It's time to go Dutch! New boy Boudewijn Zenden must be itching to get a taste of the action after watching this feast of attacking football.

The former Chelsea winger, who watched the derby showdown from the West Stand, will have realised pretty quickly that he can make a massive contribution if Boro can maintain this positive approach.

The home debut of Gaizka Mendieta and the driving force of Danny Mills revealed that this right-sided duo have already added skill and strength to the Boro cause.

But Zenden's left-wing play can be another telling factor.

In fact, Boro would surely have won this wonderful all-action game with that extra bit of creative flair.

Nevertheless, Boro managed 22 shots at goal and, under normal circumstances, this would have been good enough to win the match comfortably.

But clear-cut chances went begging, and Boro were eventually shown the way to goal by Leeds - whose three efforts on target all entered the net.

Cause for hope then, and cause for worry, too.

Boro have shown they can put sides under pressure, and this kind of home performance last season would surely have brought a victory.

But Boro have now conceded seven goals in two home games and this is a baffling puzzle to which Steve McClaren must find the answer.

It's not down to the absence of Ugo Ehiogu, nor the problems at left-back.

Boro lacked concentration when Lamine Sakho fired Leeds in front, and the marking was abysmal when Zoumana Camara headed the equaliser.

In the last minute Andrew Davies was very unlucky to slip, when he would have almost certainly cleared Jermaine Pennant's cross, but then Boro were still stretched at the back on this occasion and Mark Viduka was under no added pressure as he picked his spot.

To be blunt, the Boro defending was slack, and needs immediate attention. To throw away the points after dominating the match for such long periods verged on the criminal.

Boro should now be sitting a little more comfortably in the Premiership with four points, but instead they've got just one, and the pressure is on.

If this bad start continues, then Boro can look forward to a season of under-achievement.

However, there are more positives than negatives to cling to from Saturday's inspired attacking effort, and there are no reasons to believe that Boro cannot start winning games soon.

I thought that Mills' debut was excellent. It must have been weird, pitched straight in against your former clubmates, but the England international defended with grit and determination and pushed forward whenever possible.

Even so, Boro's major impact was in midfield, where they were totally dominant.

However, they placed too much emphasis on playing everything through Juninho, which put too much responsibility on the Brazilian's shoulders.

Mendieta enjoyed an excellent home debut, despite missing the best chance of the game, and with Zenden expected to play at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday week, Boro now have quality players on both flanks and must take advantage of this new feature.

You would hope that Boro now have the key players in place to completely turn around their poor form on their travels.

But fine tuning is necessary, and it must come over the next two weeks.

Man of the match: Class act - Danny Mills was a driving force for Boro.